This invention relates to a stow roller train for the storage and conveyance of cargo or piece goods which includes rotatable cargo supporting rollers which can be coupled with a constantly moving traction means by respectively one intermediate roller movable into the driving position or into the idling position.
It has been contemplated to construct stow roller trains wherein the intermediate or spacer rollers of several cargo supporting rollers are combined into groups and are moved substantially forcibly into the driving or idling position by a feeler actuated by the transported cargo. Thus, a separate control system is provided for the adjustment of the intermediate rollers, which system operates only in a predetermined transport direction. Furthermore, stow roller trains have been contemplated wherein the supporting rollers are suspended at one end in the manner of a pendulum, so that they come into contact with the traveling traction means at their lowest position, while they pivot from the driving position into the idling position in case of a resistance effective of the cargo to be transported. Since this pivotal movement takes place against the weight of the cargo disposed on the supporting roller, the cargo being lifted during this step, the frictional forces occurring in the stowing position are considerable. Coonsequently, a considerable increase in the driving power of the traction means is required during the stowing of the cargo, and simultaneously an increased wear and tear is exerted on the supporting rollers and/or the traction means. Furthermore, these disadvantageous consequences are increased with an increasing weight of the cargo, and the counterforce for arresting the cargo for stowing and storage is likewise enlarged. This can result in damage to sensitive cargo.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an adjustment for the intermediate rollers which is sensitive in its response to resistance forces and simple in its construction.
This object is attained, according to the invention, by disposing each intermediate roller axially fixedly, but radially movably, so that it rests on the traction means and is adjustable between the driving position and the idling position, and by equipping each intermediate roller with means for producing a control force effective in the direction of the drive position.
An especially sensitive adjustability of the intermediate roller is obtained, in accordance with another feature of this invention, by providing that the means producing the control force are effective on the intermediate roller without impeding its free radial adjustability between the supporting roller and the traction means. That is, once the control force is overcome by counterforces, the intermediate roller can move freely away from its driving position.
This invention also contemplates preferred means for producing the control force fashioned as a spring or a weight.
The invention also contemplates providing that the size of this control force can be adjusted and thus adapted to the weight of the cargo to be conveyed.
The advantages attained by the present invention reside particularly in that a transmission of the rotary motion to the supporting rollers of the stow roller train is achieved which operates in a sensitive manner and is optionally adjustable. Independently of the load on the supporting rollers, exerted by the pieces of cargo, the intermediate rollers try to maintain the supporting rollers in rotation only in dependence on the conveying resistance, each intermediate roller being adjustable individually between the driving and idling positions. By the optional adjustability of the size of the control force, the stow roller train can be adapted to a great variety of different conditions of application. The use of the roller train as a storage train with a reversible drive of the traction means furthermore makes it possible to effect the storing operation in a sensitive manner with minor stowing forces between the pieces of cargo, and to accomplish a rapid unloading in the opposite direction with high forces of acceleration. This opens up additional fields of application for the stow roller train of the present invention.
The above-mentioned and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which shows, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.